Threads of Light in Utter Darkness
by cec123
Summary: Everyone knows the story of the boy who lived. But no one knows the other story, the one before all that. The story of four Gryffindor girls and the Marauders. And how life is much more than it seemed.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to JKR

Another fic, though this one will have much longer chapters. Please review!

Haley Kalner appeared to be your average eleven-year-old girl to the unobservant bystander. Wispy dark hair that she always wore back fell a little into her equally dark eyes. No one apart from her family would have guessed that she was magical. No one would have presumed that she was a witch.

But Haley was a witch, and it caused a great scare when a week after her school had let out there was an owl tapping on the window of her kitchen.

"Mum! There's an owl at our window!" Haley called up the stairs. It was very unusual to see an owl in the part of England where Haley lived—much less in the day.

Valerine Kalner plodded down the stairs, her arms stuffed with laundry, her mind trying to focus on not tripping down the whole flight.

"What's that, Rhinhaldon?" Valerine asked as she set the laundry down on the table. She looked up to see her daughter's glare—Haley hated to be called by her given name.

"It's your name!" Valerine had insisted time after time. "And that's all we'll call you by, because when you're older, you won't want to be called 'Haley.'"

"There's an owl over by the window," Haley announced, not wanting to get into the name argument with her mother again. Upon closer inspection, she added, "And it has a letter tied to its leg!"

"Haley, what did you eat for breakfast?" Valerine asked curiously whilst folding the laundry.

"Just come see!" Haley exclaimed exasperatedly.

Valerine turned and gave a short yelp when she saw the owl banging against the window, obviously wanting to enter.

"Can I let it in? Please?" Haley begged.

Valerine nodded bewilderedly. If the owl kept up with the knocking, it would break the window anyway.

Haley turned the latch and the owl flew to her shoulder. Haley jumped slightly at the feeling of the claws on her arm, but the intelligent creature did not harm her. The speckled owl stuck out its leg with the parchment tied to it. Since the owl seemed to be offering Haley the parchment, she took it and read aloud:

Ms. R. Kalner

The Green Carpet in the Family Room

32 Northwest Lane

London

She glanced over at her mother who looked pale. The carpet Haley was standing on was indeed green. Haley shrugged inwardly and continued to read.

Dear Ms. Kalner,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Haley looked up at her mother, stunned. Then she laughed. "That has to be the farthest anyone has ever gone for a practical joke! I wonder how they did this stuff?"

Her mother gave no answer. She stood up and hugged Haley. "It's no joke, honey."

"What?" Haley asked, perplexed.

"Your father was a wizard. He must've passed the magical bloodline over to you. I had so hoped that you wouldn't be a witch. Even though you did some odd things as a child." Valerine had tears in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you think this was something I should know?" Haley yelled angrily. Valerine had never mentioned Haley's father. He had died before she had taken her first step.

"He died because he was magical! He was defending you and me by not giving out where we lived to a dark wizard! The same man killed him because of it, because he was magical. I was trying to protect you!" Valerine began to cry.

Haley had never seen her mother looking so vulnerable and suddenly she felt bad that she had lost her temper yet again. "Will you let me go?"

"It's your choice. Your life," Valerine said. "I should've told you a while ago."

Haley sighed. "At least I know now." But Haley didn't know whether or not she could accept the position at Hogwarts. How could she leave her mother alone?

Valerine saw the war raging internally inside her daughter. She stood, took out a sheet of parchment and penned a three-letter reply for Haley, then tied it to the patient owl's leg. They both watched it take off and fly until it was only a speck in the sky, no doubt heading for Hogwarts.

Unlike Haley, Lily Evans had no magical parents, and therefore was a muggle-born. She had never heard of magic.

Lily and her sister Petunia were sitting on the floor of Lily's room, playing cards. Petunia drew from the pile, and practiced her poker face as she discarded the card. Petunia was a year younger than eleven-year-old Lily and the two sisters were quite close. They did almost everything together.

Lily tucked a strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear and surveyed her hand with contemplating green eyes. She drew one, laughed, and set her cards down. "All Kings! Ha, beat that!"

"Well, Lily," Petunia grinned as she set four aces down. "I think I just did."

It was at that moment that a snowy white owl flew through the open window, as it always was left on warm summer nights. Instead of resting on Lily's shoulder, it perched on a stool.

"Wow! An owl! I've never seen one out of the zoo!" Petunia said excitedly.

"Watch out, Petunia! That owl won't hesitate to maul piece by piece of you," Lily warned. "We learned all about them in Science last year," she added proudly.

"MUM! DA—," Petunia began to scream, but Lily quickly clamped a hand over the younger girl's mouth.

"Don't move at all or make any noises," Lily whispered urgently. "Stay here."

Then Lily crept forward a little, picked a book from the floor, and flung it at the owl.

To say the owl was hit by the book would be an understatement. The book crashed into the owl with amazing speed and the owl toppled off the stool and was already knocked out when it landed on the ground. But the book had also hit the stool and it too fell to the floor, landing right on top of the already more-than-wounded owl.

"I think you killed it," Petunia murmured softly.

"No, they do stuff like that all the time in movies," Lily claimed. "The villain never dies that easily."

Rose and George Evans carefully approached their daughter's room after hearing noise from downstairs. They took in the whole scene and Lily explained about everything. When they checked the snowy owl, they found that it was indeed dead. And that's how Lily Evans developed her great fear of owls.

"What's that tied to its leg?" Petunia asked.

"It seems to be a letter. And for you, Lily dear! I wonder how it knew who you were and where you lived…" Rose considered.

Ms. L. Evans

The Floor of the Bedroom

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

The family found the same letter that Haley had, only they thought it definitely was a practical joke.

"Probably that Branson bloke up the street," Lily muttered. "That'd be so typical."

"Well, we can't write a letter back to find out," George said. "Let's forget about it. We'll bury the owl in the morning. Put it outside."

Lily and Petunia complied, but Lily was anxious that the owl would come back to life and start to shred her apart with its sharp talons.

No such thing happened, but when Lily and Petunia went out the next morning to bury the owl, it was nowhere to be seen.

June Hinkle had been to Diagon Alley plenty of times shopping for her older siblings' school supplies. The only change now was that it was for her own school supplies they were shopping for, and that made all the difference.

"I need…a wand!" June said, glancing at her list.

"Ollivander's is right over there. I'll take you," Teddy, her older brother, offered.

It took them quite a while to find a wand that chose June. It was a little after breaking Mr. Ollivander's glasses that they finally found the perfect one.

"Oak and Phoenix Tail Feather. Twelve inches. Strong and durable," Mr. Ollivander informed June, holding out the wand after it was packaged. "Similar wand to your oldest sister, actually."

June thanked the older man and she and Teddy ran off to find their mother. Since Teddy was slightly ahead of June, she darted into a crowd setting off in the other direction. Now she could have some time to explore by herself.

Her milky-chocolate eyes skimmed the stores as she left the crowd and she ran a hand through her long bright sunny hair. Flourish and Blotts was one of them, but she had already been in there plenty of times, and she wanted something new.

Continuing to walk a little ways, she saw a dark alley behind a group of buildings. A lopsided sign that was labeled 'Knockturn Alley' didn't make the place look very inviting, but June carefully made her way into the alley, her curiosity overtaking her.

It was deserted. There were a few shops dotting the sides of the alley, but they were all run down and had a sense of foreboding that caused June to not venture inside.

A young woman a few years older than her came up to June and started to shove her towards the direction in which June came. "You can't stay—they'll find another—escape while you can!" the woman whispered urgently. "Don't come back!"

When June saw the light of Diagon Alley and turned to question the woman, she was nowhere in sight. She shrugged and made her way back to Ollivander's, where her brother would without doubt be. She would find out the secret of Knockturn Alley, whether the people there liked it or not.

Ariane Klett was nervous about leaving home on the Hogwarts Express. Her only brother, Will, had the year before and he loved Hogwarts. But Ariane would never admit her apprehension aloud, for she was too stubborn.

When September the First arrived much more quickly than the family had thought, Ariane already had her supplies and robes packed in her trunk and she was ready long before ten. She began to chew her nails because now she had nothing to do but wait and think.

It seemed that she hardly had any time at all, though, because soon she was standing in front of the brick wall that was the barrier with her cart and getting ready to drive it through to the other side.

Will went first and then it was her turn. As she gathered speed her eyes closed but she didn't feel the collision of the barrier as she thought she would. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the grand red train that was no other than the Hogwarts Express.

Her parents, Amy and Daniel Klett, were right behind her. "Quickly, get a good compartment before they all fill up!" her father urged.

Ariane hugged them both. "See you at Christmas."

"Be sure to write," her mother called as Ariane lugged her trunk onto the train. Ariane waved.

She found an empty compartment at the end of the train, and stowed her trunk in the far corner. She gazed out the window, seeing more students beginning to say their goodbyes to their parents.

"Um, excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" Ariane turned and smiled at the girl.

"Not at all," Ariane said.

The girl flashed a slight smile as she dropped her trunk on the floor of the compartment and sat across from Ariane. "June Hinkle," the girl introduced herself.

"Ariane Klett. I'm a first year. Are you?"

"Yes I am. What have you heard about the four houses?" June asked.

"Only the names. I forgot to ask how everyone was sorted, though."

The compartment door slid open again revealing a girl with flaming hair, who looked to be about their own age. "I'm Lily Evans," the girl announced and took a seat next to Ariane. "Are you all first years?"

"We are. I'm Ariane Klett. Have you heard anything about Hogwarts?" Ariane questioned.

"No, I'm muggle-born," Lily explained. "I didn't even know there was such thing as magic until I received my letter. I ended up killing the owl who delivered it."

"How?" June inquired eagerly. "I'm June Hinkle, by the way."

The conversation progressed as Lily told of the owl and a there was another knock on the compartment. Lily slid the door open and Ariane pointed to each of the girls and said in turn, "Lily Evans, June Hinkle, and I'm Ariane Klett."

"Haley Kalner," the girl said. "The other years don't seem to like the first years all that much."

"They don't," June confirmed. "My older brother was one once."

Haley sat next to June and the soon after they felt the train begin to move. The girls laughed as Lily explained how she was terrified of owls to Haley and even though none of them knew it, they were already best friends.

Remus Lupin was sitting in a compartment twiddling his thumbs apprehensively. No one would want to be his friend because of his condition. Everyone would find out and he would shamefully be sent home.

"Hey, uh, can we sit in here?"

Remus looked up. The boy who had spoken was the one with messy black hair and glasses covering hazel eyes. The other boy had dark hair and light eyes. Both were tall for their age.

"Sure," Remus said.

"Sirius Black," said the boy with light eyes.

"James Potter. You a first year?" asked the other boy.

"Yeah. Remus Lupin," Remus supplied.

"Same with us. We plan to be in Gryffindor, if only to piss off my family," Sirius grinned.

"There's more than that, though. They have the best Quidditch Team of all the houses," James informed while gazing dreamy-eyed at his trunk. "We're sneaking in a broom."

"I'd love to see you get away with that. Imagine the looks on the teacher's faces," Remus laughed.

"That's half the reason we're doing it," Sirius said, still grinning.

The compartment door slid open and a greasy haired boy with a hooked nose sneered. "Future Gryffindors, I presume."

"And proud of it," James confirmed.

"Respect the Slytherin House, such as those like myself, Sever—" The boy sneezed.

"Nice to meet you, Severachoo," Remus shot. "Is there a last name that goes with that?"

"Snape," the boy glared and stalked off leaving Remus, James, and Sirius alone.

"Severachoo Snape. There's got to be a good name combining the two…" Sirius wracked his brain.

"Sniverachoous!" James offered.

"That's too hard to say," Remus pointed out. "Dare you to say it twenty times fast."

"Snive—wait, what was the name again?" Sirius asked, trying to take on the dare.

"Snivellus! That should be the name!" James said exuberantly.

"Snivellus it is!" Remus and Sirius chorused.

"Now all we need are toasting glasses," Sirius announced. James and Remus laughed.

"I wonder if he's a first year," James said after the laughing had died down.

"He looks small enough to be. Someone like that won't ever make any friends," Remus sympathized.

"He deserved it," Sirius shrugged. "Now to make our grand entrance with the broom, if you're willing, James."

"No, we should keep it. I don't want it confiscated this early."

"Oy, Remus, take a look at this!" Sirius took out a silvery cloak from James's trunk. He draped it over his hand and the hand vanished into nothingness.

"It'll be perfect for getting food from the kitchens at night. And a lot more," James explained.

"We should come up with a name to make ourselves known," Remus suggested.

"How about, BAP? Boys at Pranks!"

"No, that's dumb. I say the Three Attractive Hot Famous…Marauders!"

"Marauders! Just that, it's perfect," Remus proposed.

"I dub thee the Marauders!" James said in an old English accent.

"Perfect! Now back to the pranks…"


End file.
